The 'Return to the Office' Myth There's a lot of noise right now about hybrid work hurting productivity and office culture.

Some feel that having people in the office less often is creating real challenges - and in response, there's a growing push for more regular office attendance. But what if the 'golden age' they're longing for never really existed at all? At Oktra, our data shows that even before the pandemic, more than 40% of desks sat empty on an average day. Offices weren't the thriving hubs many now romanticise. They were often uninspiring, underused, and poorly suited to how people actually work. The pandemic exposed that reality, and now, there's an exciting opportunity to rebuild something better. But it starts with letting go of old assumptions and asking the harder, more important questions: What do people really need from the office today? And are we designing spaces that earn their place in modern working life?

The office reality
The reality is, long before 2020, many people had already found ways to work that suited them better: meeting rooms, coffee shops, or even at a client's office. The traditional office was already under strain - underused, uninspiring, and poorly aligned with evolving ways of working, and not many bosses were asking why. People were in because they were contracted to be, not because it was the best place to get things done. And even then, many weren't truly in. We would see 'signs of life': bags on chairs or coffee cups on desks while they found alternative, more suitable places to work. Now we're seeing major firms, including Morrisons and Dell, mandating five days in the office for staff. The uncomfortable truth that nobody is talking about is that many of these businesses are forcing employees back to offices that were never truly fit for purpose. Many retain fundamental issues like inadequate meeting spaces, clunky technology, cramped environments, and designs that simply don't support how people actually work. This situation results in staff retention problems, diminished client experiences, and the very productivity problems these mandates were supposed to solve. When you force staff into unsuitable environments, engagement isn't necessarily the result. In fact, you often get disengagement, conflict, and quiet exits - weeks after enforcing a return-to-office mandate.

Spaces that perform, not just impress
Fast forward to today, and businesses are investing heavily in making offices more visually appealing. I've seen design briefs fixate on details - from plant walls to high-end furniture - without once mentioning how teams actually use the space. But design isn't just about how a workplace looks. It's about how it performs. Aesthetics can't compensate for friction. If your team can't find a quiet space to focus, or if the tech fails every third meeting, no amount of premium finishes will make people want to come in. When a workspace works - really works - people don't just get more done. The

The part we often overlook is that functionality isn't just about productivity. It's foundational to culture. When people feel supported by their environment, they collaborate more openly, stay longer, and identify more deeply with the business. A high-performing space leads to high-performing teams. But even the best-designed workplace can fall flat if people don't understand how to use it. That's why successful environments aren't just built for people - they're built with them. Involving users in the design process leads to smarter decisions, better utilisation, and ultimately, spaces people feel connected to and confident in.

Solutions for a better way forward
We've reached a crossroads. Leaders can either double down on nostalgia, or take this moment to rethink what the office is actually for - and how it needs to perform. After two decades designing workspaces for some of the biggest brands in the world, including Deliveroo and YouTube, here's what I've learned:

1. Test before you mandate: Don't rush to reinstate rigid office policies without asking: Can our space actually support the way people work today? Many don't. Before declaring a four- or five-day RTO policy, pilot it. Watch how the space performs. Where do people gather? What's always booked? What goes unused? A mandate without testing is just a shortcut to the same problems that broke the office in the first place.
2. Function over fashion: The opportunity now isn't just to redesign how offices look. It's to rethink how they work. Stop investing in beautiful but dysfunctional spaces. Instead, create environments that genuinely support different types of work. This means providing variety: quiet zones for concentration, collaborative areas for high-energy work, and private spaces for focussed tasks.
3. Know the true capacity and limitations of your space: Before you ask more of your environment, assess what it's capable of. Is there enough variety? Are tech and acoustics enabling good work - or quietly sabotaging it? Brightmine research shows that 15% of UK firms have already increased mandatory office days. But if your environment isn't equipped for higher occupancy, all you're doing is accelerating friction, disengagement, and turnover.

Progress in place of nostalgia
The return to the office doesn't have to be a repeat of the past. It can be a turning point. A chance to create flexible, functional spaces that genuinely support people in doing their best work, whether they're based in the office full-time, hybrid, or primarily remote. The firms that will succeed aren't those trying to recreate a mythical golden age of office culture. They're the ones recognising that the future belongs to workspaces that earn their places in employees' lives through genuine functionality and choice. The goal isn't to fill desks or enforce attendance. It's to create environments where people can do their best work, collaborate effectively, and feel genuinely engaged with their workplace. The pandemic didn't break the office. It exposed something that was already broken. Smart business leaders will use this opportunity to build something better, not just prettier versions of a system that hadn't functioned effectively for decades.